Co-chairs,

Thank you for giving me the floor.

I am honored to deliver this short statement on behalf of the Group of G77 and China.

At the outset, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Co-Chairs of the Preparatory Committee, namely the distinguished Permanent Representative of Singapore and the Deputy Permanent Representative of New Zealand, as well as the Co-Facilitators, namely the distinguished Permanent Representatives of Mexico and Romania, for their able leadership in getting the Draft Decision on the Arrangements for accreditation and participation of relevant non-governmental organizations and other major groups in the preparatory process and in the third International Conference on Small Island Developing States to this point.

The Group has accepted a "compromised" version of the draft Decision to show its support to Small Island Developing States and to ensure a successful Conference in Samoa.

I thank our developed partners for showing flexibility and in working closely with our Group to arrive at this version.

Thank you very much.